Plane Explodes Over Everglades

MIAMI — Three people were presumed dead after their small plane exploded at 4,000 feet over southwest Florida.

A wing and other smaller pieces of the twin-engine Cessna 421 were spotted about 6 p.m. Saturday in a mangrove swamp about five miles northeast of Cape Sable in the southwest Everglades.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew found remnants of the plane after learning that the crew of a commercial airliner saw a fireball in the sky at 2:47 p.m. Friday.

''What we think happened right now is that there was a midair explosion with the people on board,'' said Coast Guard Lt. Robin Kane. The private plane carrying three Minnesota people took off Friday afternoon from Key West, en route to Naples, Petty Officer Carl Vitevitch said.

Authorities said the pilot was a 70-year-old man, and his wife and a friend, both in their 60s, were also on board. Their names were not released.